---
title: "Man Killed in Boston Crash When His Audi A8 Goes Airborne, Hits Roof of Tunnel"
description: "19-year-old Yao Cao was determined to be dead at the scene; a female passenger was taken to the hospital."
date: "2017-03-27"
modified: "2017-03-27"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/8658/man-killed-in-boston-crash-when-his-audi-a8-launch-into-air-hits-roof-of-tunnel"
categories:
  - "Audi News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "a8"
  - "Accident"
  - "Audi"
  - "Boston"
  - "Crash"
  - "luxury"
  - "Massachusetts"
  - "sedan"
  - "turnpike"
---

# Man Killed in Boston Crash When His Audi A8 Goes Airborne, Hits Roof of Tunnel

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/03/boston-massachusetts-turnpike-crash-audi-a8.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A college student was killed and his female passenger injured early Sunday morning in Boston when [his Audi A8 launched into the air and struck the roof of a tunnel](<https://www.mspnews.org/2017/03/update-state-police-identify-operator-in-fatal-crash-in-boston/>) on the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to the Massachusetts State Police.

The man has been identified by the state police as 19-year-old Yao Cao. A statement from the acting president of Suffolk University said Cao, who hailed from Changchun, China, was a freshman at the Boston-area college, [according to *The Boston Globe*](<https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/26/brookline-man-dies-mass-pike-tunnel-crash/mskROiURZLy2XQ5kaf5xXO/story.html>). Authorities determined he was dead at the accident scene. His passenger, who has not been identified, sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the accident, police said.

Preliminary investigation suggests Cao's 2013 Audi A8 was traveling east on Boston's Route 90 near exit 22 when the car went airborne at around 2:15 a.m., colliding with the roof of the tunnel. High speed and impairment are believed to have been components in the crash, police said.

https://twitter.com/_/status/846006850751549443

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)

## More

- [Performance Shop Crashes Customer’s Audi S4, Denies Obligation to Pay for Repairs](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/25074/performance-shop-crashes-customers-audi-s4-denies-obligation-to-pay-for-repairs.md>)
- [This 21-foot Audi A8 Limousine Is the Anti-Hot Rod](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2973/this-21-foot-audi-a8-limousine-is-the-anti-hot-rod.md>)
- [Highway Patrol Arrests Audi A4 Driver Impersonating Chinese Paramilitary Police](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29927/highway-patrol-arrests-driver-impersonating-chinese-paramilitary-police-with-audi-a4.md>)
- [The 2018 Audi S5 Video Review: Popping the Hood on Audi’s 354-HP Sports Coupe](<https://www.thedrive.com/video/18129/the-2018-audi-s5-video-review-popping-the-hood-on-audis-354-hp-sports-coupe.md>)
- [2026 Audi A6 Is Even More Aerodynamic Than the R8 Was](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2026-audi-a6-is-even-more-aerodynamic-than-the-r8-was.md>)
- [Found for Sale: 2003 Audi A4 Quattro Snowplow With Five-Speed Manual for $1,200](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31311/found-for-sale-2003-audi-a4-quattro-snowplow-with-five-speed-manual-for-1200.md>)
- [760-HP, Bulletproof Audi RS7 Is the Fastest Armored Car in the World](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28908/760-hp-bulletproof-audi-rs7-is-the-worlds-fastest-armored-car.md>)
- [Bow Before the Audi RS7, the Brand’s Rippled Adonis](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/3316/bow-before-the-audi-rs7-the-brands-rippled-adonis.md>)